Postman Pat Kiddie Rides
Postman Pat is one of the longest-running British TV shows that aired on the BBC. It started in 1981 and Has Been On Hiatus Since 2017 (It May Be Revived, It Had Breaks Between 1982-1995, 1997-2002, 2009-2012 And 2014-2015). Obviously, some kiddie rides from that show were made. The first was by OMC and Kidzstuff from 1991 until 1997, then by Mitchells (R.G. Mitchell) from 1997-1998 until 2006, then by Fun2Learn from 2006 until 2008, and lastly, by Amutec and Bandai Namco from 2008 until 2015. A few units of the post van (PAT 1) was sighted outside a few Post Offices. OMC version OMC Electronics (known as Kidzstuff in 1997, currently Northern Leisure Group/Kiddy Rides UK) prototyped the first Postman Pat kiddie ride on the 6th of December 1991, which was based on Postman Patrick Pat Clifton's first post van (PAT 1) with Greendale's popular postman and his black and white cat, Jess inside it. The prototype turned out to be a commercial failure and didn't sell so easily. OMC tried it one more time and this time, it was a huge success. The produced models were later officially released about 2 weeks later, just In time for Christmas, which was the same year the first five units of the infamously failed prototype was sold to Bafco (now Bandai Namco UK). The ride gyrates on the base whilst the ending theme is played on loop. There are 2 yellow rectangle pushbuttons which, respectively, one has the post van honking its horn and Jess meowing (which, oddly, is actually Rosa's meow from Fireman Sam; which is another brand that OMC has made a ride for). The attract mode is the post van's horn, then its engine starting up, and the van honking its horn again. It is also used as the start up sound. Other OMC releases / Other OMC Variants * A Rare Version Called Mike the Milkman Exists. * An mega-rare and extremely impossible-to-find prototype of the van (PAT 1) released in 1991 exists with a door, no pushbuttons, no start button, and the coin slot is outside of the van. A video has been found as it makes an appearance on the Mr. Bean episode "Mind That Baby". More info can be found on the top row. * In 1995, the post van was re-released by OMC with an updated board featuring OMC (currently Northern Leisure) announcements and the opening theme. * In the late 1990s or some time in the 2000s, Northern Leisure refurbished and distributed several models of the post van. ** Oddly enough, most of them are low-pitched. Although A High Pitched One Was Spotted At Royal Family Amusements In Margate. And Normal Pitch ones were found at Funshack in Seaham and Blaismare Amusements In Symonds Yat. *** It may be because the Northern Leisure refurbished rides (along with Fireman Sam) usually have high pitched attract mode, but low pitched music while the ride is in motion. * Northern Leisure also Refurbished some models with a different Licence Plate and OMC V2's Flat Headlights, but still retained the ending theme. * V1 models with a 2.0. OMC Base Exist, one has been sighted at Treasure Island in Hemsby. * Some Northern Leisure Refurbished ones have a Licence plate from Fun2Learn Postman Pat. * A High Pitched Model Was Spotted At Lythan St Annes Pier, Various Other High Pitched Ones Have Also Been Spotted. * A Low Pitched One Was Spotted At A Charity Shop, Various Other Low Pitched Ones Have Also Been Spotted. * Some OMC Postman Pat Kiddie Rides With Faulty PMP And ROSie Boards Have Been Spotted. An OMC Postman Pat With Faulty ROSie Board Was Spotted At Symonds Yat, In Which The Horn Sound Plays over and over. Click here. * Some OMC Postman kiddie rides with bases supplied by Whittaker Brothers apparently exist. * Some units have black dots in the middle of the headlights, resembling eyes. * On the 29th of June, 1994, OMC made an ultra-rare, extremely impossible-to-find, and strangely designed ride was made, once again, featuring Pat and Jess, where the rider sits on a red post sack next to the titular postman and his black and white cat. The ride was called Mini Postman Pat and only 24 units were produced. This ride, like the original post van ride from 1991, featured 2 pushbuttons (which are placed on a parcel that Pat is holding; same goes with the start button, credit counter, and coin mechanism) and the ending theme on loop while the ride is in motion, controlled by a different PMP control board. The sound effects are respectively do the same meow SFX as PAT 1 and Pat saying, "Jess? Jess?" from Postman Pat and the Toy Soldiers. This ride featured a few parts supplied by Photo-Me. ** In addition, despite not being a kiddie ride, OMC also made an extremely rare and very impossible-to-find standalone version of the post van with an interactive touchscreen incorporating a game called Postman Pat's Paint Pot (as according to Northern Leisure's old website). These exist as well. * According to a few YouTube videos, Photo-Me versions exist, which feature the extended soundtrack theme performed by the late Ken Barrie (1933-2016). * An OMC Postman Pat supplied by Both Photo-Me and Northern Leisure has been spotted at Houghton Regis Snakes & Ladders. * According to Steven Mc Gowan, a white OMC Postman Pat van (PAT 1) with red bumpers, Pat without glasses and with black hair, and without Jess with a low pitched ROSie control board was spotted at Trabolgan Holiday Village, East Cork. ** Similarly, at Darkford's Kiddie Ride History Palace, a V2 PAT 1 Was Spotted With Blue Lights, Pat With Black Hair, Red Bumpers And With No Eyes With A Medium Pitched ROSie Board Was Spotted. ** According To Richard Pike of Northern Leisure, a white version of PAT 1 exists, as only 37 were made! * OMC Postman Pats (PAT 1) with reversed movement have been spotted. * On a German Website called kinderplanet, a yellow painted OMC Postman Pat Van with different Coin slot, DHL Logo, and blue EMT base can be found. ** On The Same Website, A Modiffied Green One (Similar To The Imfamous "Garfield Van Ride") Can Be Found ** Also A Normal Postman Pat With Different Lights And A Side Sticker of The Kinderplanet.de Logo. * At the Gatwick airport, an OMC Postman Pat with rectangular Headlights was found. ** In Glasgow, An OMC Postman Pat With Rectangle Indicators Was Found * At some Places, like Las Vegas Amusements, Hemsby, Walton Pier and Kino Amusements,Walton, An OMC Postman Pat Kiddie ride without headlights has been spotted. * At Las Vegas Amusements In Hemsby, an OMC V1 Postman Pat With A Green Start Button, Yellow Horn Button and Blue Jess Button was spotted, but these three buttons were originally from fruit machines. * An OMC Postman Pat Kiddie ride with a Windshield and a Window was spotted at Postman Pat's village, Longleat. * An OMC Postman Pats with bypassed start button exist. A V1 was spotted at Gele Mini Arcade, Abergele. This Model Also has a different coinbox.. * TAJ The Arcade Junkie refurbished one OMC Postman Pat with R.G. Mitchell Puppy Scooter's audio. * At at unknown location in Romania, a repainted OMC Postman Pat ride (1991) was spotted with a different interior (the speaker is where Jess would be; which three parcels take his position), Garfield paintings on the bonnet, sides, and back, the second season theme song, and quotes from Pat Clifton and Alf Thompson were taken from the series two episode "Postman Pat and the hole in the road" which were, "Hello there! Time to go home!" (Pat) and "Is this what all the fuss is about? Huh! It doesn't look much to me!" (Alf). The van is blue and Pat's uniform and hat is red. More Rides Like This Can Be Found On Our Ride Error Page ** This was later revealed to be a moddified Dennis the Driver Kiddie ride by Kidzstuff. * Exclusive to Norway, there are Postmann Pat kiddie rides, which shares the same design as the produced models of the post van from 1991. * Exclusive to Denmark, there are Postmand Per kiddie rides, which share the same design as the produced models of the post van from 1991. * Exclusive to Netherlands, there are Pieter Post kiddie rides, which share the same design as the produced models of the post van from 1991. * Pat Is Often Missing His Eyes And/Or Glasses. * Some Models are Missing at least one headlight. * At Barry Island Sea Front, an OMC Postman Pat with Pat having a red mouth has been spotted before it got withdrawn and replaced with a v1 Fun2Learn Postman Pat with jammed Button. *A Rarther Rare Version Called Dennis The Driver Exists Mitchells (R.G. Mitchell) version In 1997, When OMC went defunct, Mitchells Children's Rides (R.G. Mitchell) bought out this ride (as well as the Fireman Sam ride, which OMC has also made). They revamped the whole design of the post van (PAT 1) by adding a new dashboard with the traditional square pushbuttons, a new movement (back and forth, the same motion as rides with this movement), a new soundboard, and even an additional addition, a Rolling Road display. Like the original post van ride by OMC, the ride featured the ending theme on loop while the ride is in motion. The ride was released around December 1997/January 1998. Fireman Sam was released by said company in December 1998. Other MCR (RGM) releases / Other RGM Variants * At places like Tesco Extra Shrewsbury, original units of the post van (PAT 1) with yellow licence plates on both the front and back bumpers were spotted. Some of these units with the original yellow Licence plates are a bit rare to find. * On the earliest V1 models, Pat's eyes have a sclera and a pupil, while on the other ones, Pat has only black dots as his Eyes. *A Version With No Licence Plate Also Exists * Versions with BOT1 boards exist. They can be found at places such as Tesco Edenthorpe, Tesco Perth, Wimbledon Café,Tesco Yiewsley and Tesco bury. * In KL Gateway, a model with rectangular indicators was spotted. Just Like The OMC One In Glasgow ** Plus, it has a yellow Licence plate. * There is a Mitchells version sighted and spotted at The Lido in Worthing that has a Stamar motherboard, with the extended theme like the Photo-Me version, and the sound effects are the same horn sound as a few JR rides and Pilchard's meow, which is exactly the same as the Jolly Roger Bob the Builder rides (normally Scoop). * In Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach Gardens, A R.G. Mitchell Postman Pat was spotted with The Royal Mail logo having different size on both sides of the van. *Exclusive to Denmark, there are Postmand Per kiddie rides, but the messages are in English. The rides feature the extended Postmand Per theme song and share the same as the post van from 1997/1998. *Low Pitched V1's Exist, A Low Pitch White Licence Plate One Was Spotted At A Fair In Great Yarmouth, A Low Pitched Yellow Licence Plate One Was Spotted At Tesco Extra Shewsbury. *A Model With Reversed Motor Was Spotted At A Shop In Colwyn Bay Over 10 Years Ago. * Pat Is Often Missing His Eyes And/Or Glasses. *At A Toys 4U Store In America, An RGM Pat Ŵith No Eyes Was Spotted Fun2Learn versions In The Summer Of 2006, Fun2Learn released an updated version of the post van (PAT 1). It was re-designed to look more like the third-fifth series design and the soundboard was updated with the third-fifth series opening theme. 3 versions were made. The first version has the original F2L start button (for Northern Leisure releases, a different start button) and three buttons: the horn button which makes a horn honking sound and two letter buttons: for Ted Glen and Jeff Pringle which, respectively, make Pat say two phrases, which are, "Last delivery of the day!" and "This letter might be important!" featuring the voice of the late Ken Barrie. The second version has the MCR (RGM)/yellow rectangle Amutec start button, the horn button (which, on this version, is the same as the horn button on the original OMC versions) and the Ted Glen letter button. The third version is the same as the second version, but the horn button isn't there; the Jeff Pringle letter button takes it's position. The third version is very rare. An extremely rare version of this ride exists that doubles as a vending machine, similar to that of three Jolly Roger vending rides: Vending Fun Bus (2007?), Vending Van (2010), and Vending Wagon (2016). Fun2Learn also made a Postman Pat-themed vending machine which resembles a postbox, which can be found at arcades such as Bermuda Park/Carousel Amusements, Hemsby. Other Fun2Learn releases * Exclusive to Denmark, there are F2L Postmand Per kiddie rides. * At Barry Island Henry Danter Amusements, A Bizzarly Reprogrammed Model Was Spotted. * At Barry Island Sea Front, A V1 Was Spotted Where Jeff Pringle's Button Is Jammed SDS Helicopter (Amutec/Bandai Namco) At some point In 2008, Amutec and Bandai Namco released a kiddie ride based off the Special Delivery Service Helicopter (PAT 3) from the sixth season (Postman Pat: Special Delivery Service), featuring Pat and Jess. It features a special up-and-down hydraulic motion and a circle pushbutton inside the helicopter that makes Pat say, "The Special Delivery Service always gets through!" as well as a joystick which makes taking off and landing sounds. Two of the announcements on this ride were performed by Pat's voice actor Since 2008, Lewis MacLeod, which respectively, are "This is a job for the Special Delivery Service Helicopter!" and "Special Delivery Service, mission accomplished!" A miniature version of the SDS Helicopter in 2008 was also made by the same companies, which shares the same base and rocking motion as the Mini Balamory Daisy Bus (2007?) and the same soundboard as the original. The big SDS Helicopter in Golden Mile Amusements, Blackpool has a broken speaker, as the SDS ending theme doesn't play. Interesting Facts * This was the first ever Kiddie ride made by OMC Electronics. * Just Like some of the OMC Electronics rides, Postman Pat is one of their rides that uses a Coin Controls C220 coin acceptor. ** The same one can be found on some Rides made by Copyright Rides and Fun2learn. * Perry Watkins converted an OMC Postman Pat into the world's smallest car in 2009. * A rare version of the OMC V1 Postman Pat Kiddie ride with a green start button was converted into a dragster in 2012. It can go near 100mph. ** They made another one of the same mould. * The Models with the ending theme have thick headlights at the front, while the opening theme ones have flat headlights. ** Oddly enough, At St. Anne's Pier, Killingworth Shopping Centre, Great Yarmouth Merrivale Old Penny Arcade and Talk of the Town Nightclub in Herne Bay and in Hastings, an OMC Postman Pat with the ending theme with flat headlights was spotted. * OMC Postman Pat Used to be one of the most common Coin Operated Kiddie rides in UK Until Around 2015/2016. Gallery Main Postman Pat (1990).jpg|OMC version (prototype; 1991) Postman Pat (1991) Alt Image.jpg|OMC version (produced;1991) OMC V1 Postman Pat with a 2,0 Base.jpg|OMC V1 With a 2.0. Base OMCPostmanPatV2FlatHeadlights.jpg|OMC V2/ V3 Northern Leisure refurbished version (produced;1995) Postman Pat's Paint Pot.jpg|Postman Pat's Paint Pot(1990s) Mini_Postman_Pat_(1994,_Red).JPG|Mini Postman Pat (1994) Postman Pat (1994).jpg|The tan-coloured sack of the OMC Mini Postman Pat (1994) RGM Postman Pat V1.JPG|Mitchell's/RG Mitchell V1 (1997) Postman Pat (1997) Standard Version.jpg|Mitchell's/RG Mitchell version (Silver license plate; 1997) Postman Pat (1997) Yellow Licence Plate Version.jpg|Mitchells/RG Mitchell Version (Yellow Licence Plate; 1997) Postman_Pat_(1997).JPG|Mitchell's/RG Mitchell Version (No Licence Plate, 1997) Postman Pat (2006).jpg|Fun2Learn version (2006) Postman Pat's SDS Helecopter (2008).jpg|Amutec/Bandai Namco Big SDS Helicopter (2008) Postman Pat's SDS Helecopter (2009).jpg|Amutec/Bandai Namco Mini SDS Helicopter (2008) Miscellaneous Garfield Blue Truck (Unknown) (Modified Postman Pat).png|The modified and repainted blue Postman Pat/Garfield van (OMC; 1991?) Postman Pat (1991) Odd Version (Fixed).jpg|The Rectange Headlights Version Of The OMC Postman Pat (1991?) OMC Postman Pat with Rectangular Headlights.png|Another Version Of OMC Postman Pat With Rectangular Headlights (1991?) OMC Postman Pat with no Headlights.jpg|OMC Postman Pat With No Headlights (1991?) RGM Postman Pat With Rectangular Headlights.png|The Strange Square Lights RGM Version (1997?) DHL OMC Postman Pat.jpg|The Yellow painted OMC Postman Pat with DHL logo and EMT base. Green OMC Postman Pat.jpg|The Green OMC Postman Pat which is almost identical to the Repainted Blue One. IMG_0066.JPG|The Strange OMC Sticker Version (1991?) IMG_0378.JPG|Postman Pat Dragster (2012) Videos Category:Rides prototyped in 1991 Category:Rides released in 1991 Category:Rides released in 1992 Category:Rides released in 1994 Category:Rides re-released in 1995 Category:Rides released in 2006 Category:Rides released in 2008 Category:Rides released in 2009 Category:Licensed Rides Category:Prototyped Rides Category:Re-released Rides Category:Rides released in 1997 Category:Rides by OMC Electronics Category:Rides by Photo-Me Category:Rides by Kidzstuff Category:Rides by Mitchells (R.G. 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